SAN DIEGO — Three days after saying goodbye to Jacob deGrom, the Mets are saying hello to Justin Verlander.
The club and Verlander, the 2022 American League Cy Young Award winner, reached agreement on a two-year deal worth $86 million Monday, according to a person with knowledge of the deal who was not authorized to discuss it publicly.
The Mets needed to replace an ace, and Verlander, 39, wanted a big stage on which to win.
The deal pairs Verlander, a three-time Cy Young winner, with Max Scherzer, also a three-time winner of the award, atop a contending rotation. The two were teammates in Detroit from 2011 to 2014, during which time they helped the Tigers to three consecutive American League Championship Series (2011 to 2013) and one World Series (2012).
In New York, they will attempt to do what they could not in Detroit: win a World Series.
In his first full season back from Tommy John surgery in 2022, Verlander was 18-4 with a 1.75 E.R.A. and helped pitch Houston to a World Series title.
The Mets’ deal with Verlander, who turns 40 on Feb. 20, includes an option for 2025.
